The Strangest Friendship
by imaginary iby
Summary: A collection of short stories that focus on the friendship between Abby and Gibbs. Chapter Seven. Abby thinks about Gibbs and the team. Or does she? A short, hopefully funny fic.
1. Keeper

Thanks for taking the time to read. I really hope you like them!

Abby looked through the one sided glass at the man in Interrogation Room One. He was bored, obviously not liking being cooped up in a room with little space and no sunlight. He seemed like a man who needed something to occupy his time and expend his energy on.

Gibbs _would_ have to conduct interviews with prospective agents in the interrogation room. For a man who thought of himself as serious, his mocking of probies, potential or not, was rather childlike.

The door to the viewing room swung open and the subject of her thoughts breezed in, carrying two cups of coffee. One was larger than the other and she swiped at it, but he held it out of her reach before handing her the smaller cup.

"S'pose I should be grateful."

He nodded in agreement. "I don't bring just anybody coffee."

Abby smirked into her cup, smaller though it may be. "You won't be bringing him any, I can tell."

"Is that because I'm not going to hire him? Or because I'm going to hire him but he's going to be so annoying that I'd rather shoot myself in the foot than provide him with caffeine?"

"I annoy you, and you give me caffeine."

"Yeah, but if I don't keep you happy you won't do your job, which means I can't do mine. _He_ can't do anything that I couldn't."

"That's probably not true."

He looked at her and mock scowled. She moved her coffee to her other hand, away from him, and tightened her grip on it. He could be fast when he wanted to be.

"All I meant was that you probably couldn't apply gel to your hair quite as effectively as he can. If you disagree however…"

"Abby…" he growled, but there was affection in his voice.

He looked down at his cup and realized that he'd downed more of his drink than she'd had to begin with, so he snatched hers out of her hands and gave her his original one, the tall cup hiding the less than full contents.

"Gibbs! That's so not fair!"

"Buyer's rights."

'You never let me buy though! Every time we go anywhere with coffee you always push me in a chair and order me not to leave it. Last time you told me you'd expose the Caf-Pow! production factories as fronts for Al-Qaeda and have them closed down if I went anywhere near the counter."

Gibbs coughed, and hoping to redirect the conversation, nodded questioningly at the prospective employee who was now standing near the door, tapping the wooden frame with interest and hope.

Abby scowled amusedly at him before following his gaze to the man she'd only recently been informed was Anthony DiNozzo. "What the hell is he doing? Testing out his carpentry skills? Why doesn't he just leave?"

Gibbs coughed again. "Well, he might find it a bit hard to."

Realization dawned. "Gibbs! You locked him in! That's…kinky. Handsome man, locked in the NCIS Interrogation Room. Could be fun."

"Not for you."

"Hands off, got it. You're terribly possessive."

He ignored her comment and again nodded at the man now pacing in front of them. "So, what do you think?"

"You're asking me? What's your gut telling you?"

"It's telling me this guy's going to make me want to climb walls, but that he's good and he's got potential. I want to know what you think though."

She shrugged. "He complimented Bert's dog collar. Which makes me like him, but somehow I don't think that's the sort of background you're after. I like him. Don't know why. I think there might be something to him, even with the aforementioned wall climbing and shoot-footing. No, wait, sorry, foot-shooting. I love lansposing tretters. Like spoonerisms."

He seemed to be listening to her intently until he felt an impending detailed explanation, complete with examples, of 'spoonerisms' and quickly pushed her cup to her mouth to silence her. She gurgled with surprise.

"Reckon he's a keeper?" Gibbs questioned.

They studied the man intently, sizing him up. All of a sudden, he pulled something small and shiny out of his pocket and bent low over the lock, inserting the silver object into it experimentally.

"He's trying to pick the lock!" Abby laughed.

"Good boy. I'll have to yell at him about it though."

"Of course. Then you'll teach him how to pick a lock properly. Keeper?"

Gibbs nodded. "Keeper."

"Not like me though, right?" She looked at him over her…his cup.

"Nobody's quite like you, Abs."

"That's the way it should be."

He ran his hand along her back as he walked past her. "That's the way it'll always be." Opening the door he went to yell at DiNozzo for what felt like the first of many times.


	2. Midnight Meetings

Please read and review, it makes me ridiculously, pathetically happy.

oooooooooooooooooooooo

"So, how did you guys actually meet?" Tony asked Gibbs, as he peered at him through one of the many magnifying glasses in the lab.

Abby chuckled as Gibbs swatted the glass away and looked at her.

oooooooooooooooooooooo

A splash interrupted the peace and quiet Gibbs had been enjoying only seconds before. It'd been months since he'd had the time to go fishing at night; stealthy serial murderers tended to take up a lot of one's time and energy, so it was with a sigh that he sat up in his boat and rummaged around for the torch.

He'd had it on, but partly obscured by his jacket with the beam directed into the boat so as not to scare the fish. Now he'd be lucky to catch anything for the next hour or two.

Another splash sounded through the night air, followed by a gasp and a shriek. After assessing the shriek as one of shock rather than fear, he trailed the beam across the water until he found ripples. Noting their direction, he cast the beam beyond them.

"Anyone out there?"

There was no reply, so he lifted the torch high over his head to extend the light as far as it would go.

What he found was a shock. There was a young woman, treading water next to the pier of the lake. As the light flashed across her face, she put her hand over her eyes to shield them. Gibbs didn't move it away though. She brought her other hand up to wave at him and indicate that she wanted him to move the beam, but she quickly started to sink with no hands to tread water.

"You alright ma'am?"

There was a groan. "Please don't call me ma'am."

Gibbs sat back in the boat and directed the light a little to her left so that he could still see her but not blind her.

The girl twitched her nose. "I fell off the pier."

"Yeah, I kind of assumed that. You alright?"

"I think I hurt my ankle, but I'll be ok. There's no way I can climb up there though." She nodded at the pier, which was a good meter from the water.

"Swim over," Gibbs directed.

The girl however, did nothing of the sort. "See, there's a little problem."

Gibbs sighed. Of course there was a problem. He really didn't need this. He just wanted to sit alone in his boat in the dark. "What sort of problem would that be?"

The girl chuckled. "Well, it's not really a problem for me, but if I swim over there it might be a problem for you."

The pieces fell together. "You were skinny-dipping."

There was another chuckle, this time rather knowingly. "I'm curious about the speed with which you came to that conclusion."

"Well, that's a story for another time, ma'a-"

"Ah!" She rolled her eyes.

Gibbs shrugged. "Well, what's your name?"

"Abby." She was met with silence. "Well, aren't you going to tell me yours?"

"Don't you think, _Abby_, that this is a strange place for introductions?"

The girl, now identified as Abby, looked around her curiously. "Nope, seems alright to me."

Gibbs felt his eyes roll, and tried to hold them steady. He didn't know where he'd picked that up. "Gibbs. I'm Gibbs."

"Gibbs, eh? Hhhmm, let's see. Josiah Willard Gibbs, creator of the Gibbs phenomenon, Gibbs paradox, Gibbs state. Gibbs was a mathematician and physicist. Don't suppose you're either of those, are you?"

Gibbs laughed loudly. "No, Abby."

"Do you have a funny first name like him?"

"Not quite."

When he didn't elaborate she grew impatient. "Well, what is it?" She smiled at him.

"Leroy Jethro Gibbs."

"Three names, nice. I like that. I just got Abby Sciuto. Boring, huh?"

"Short for Abigail?" he asked.

She growled. "Yeah, Leroy."

"Right, Gibbs and Abby it is. You going to swim over?"

She started to do a lazy breaststroke towards the boat, careful to keep her body under the dark water, more for his comfort than hers. Reaching the boat, she curled her fingers over the edge and looked up at him.

"Short for Guy In Back, too. If you're, you know, militarily inclined. Judging by the cut."

"How does a girl like you know military acronyms?"

"I did more with my childhood than play with dolls, you know. So, how do you want to do this?"

"I'll just pull you up."

She smirked. "I think you're forgetting about my whole being naked issue."

Gibbs shrugged at her, and she smiled back at him. He grabbed her arms and pulled her clean out of the water. Averting his gaze once she was high enough to pull herself in, he turned and grabbed his jacket. Not turning around, he passed it to her and waited. Once the crackling noise of water-proof material slipping over skin stopped, he turned around. The jacket was big enough on her that it fell just above her knees.

He watched as she did up the last button, before looking up at him sheepishly.

"I think it's only water-proof on the outside. I'll get you a new one."

Gibbs shook his head. "Don't worry about it. So, how'd you know about Guy In Back?"

"It's not like it's classified knowledge. I'm a forensic scientist. Lots of information stored up here." She tapped her temple.

"Where do you work?"

"I'm not at the moment. I just finished a stint with East coast SWAT teams, but now I'm looking for something new." She nodded at the thermos that was poking out of his backpack. "Would I be pressing my luck if I asked if that was coffee?"

He looked at the thermos, and then back at her. She was shivering. He pulled it out and handed her a cup.

"Hold this steady."

She curled her fingers around the tin mug. He heard her chanting under her breath. "Coffee, coffee, coffee, coffee, coffee."

He smiled as he poured. "So, you ever heard of NCIS?"

ooooooooooooooooooo

"At church, Tony." Abby replied. "You know, Gibbs, you never did tell me the skinny-sipping story."


	3. All The Coffee In The World

Thanks for the reviews guys, they're shiny!!

All The Coffee In The World.

The leather of Abby's seat was warm underneath her. It was a creamy colour, with wooden armrests covered in grey suede. The usual paraphernalia of headphone jacks and channel switches adorned the side of it, sitting just above her leg. The idea of the SecNav plugging in to Placebo made her laugh, but she quickly swallowed the sound before it escaped her mouth. Not only was she not in the mood for laughing, she felt she'd done quite enough of it by herself for the week already.

She drummed her fingers on the armrest uneasily. The others had gone back to Mr. and Mrs. Todd's house after the funeral, but she'd quietly excused herself. Not knowing what to do, she'd wound up back at the private airport. After a quick inspection of the plane's mechanics, she'd nestled into a recliner at the back, the only indication of the passing time, the changing feel of the seat underneath her as it went from cool and smooth to warm and slightly sticky.

Bringing her legs up underneath her, she leant against the curved wall of the plane and looked out the small square window. The tarmac was huge, and that excluded the runway space. Coming from a town where each family was part of a community carpool, the notion of having a private jet completely blew her away. Sighing, she brought her gaze back into the plane.

Only to discover Gibbs had sat down next to her. She flinched in shock, but as always managed to reign in the jump that threatened every time he snuck up on her.

She forced a high wattage smile to her lips. "Gibbs! You scared me!"

Gibbs chuckled, but it was a sad sound.

"I thought you went back to Kate's house with Tony and the guys. That Madame Director, too. Still haven't quite figured who she is though."

Gibbs seemed thoroughly engrossed in the seat in front of him.

She twisted around to curl up on her other side, resting her cheek on the backrest to face him.

"You alright?"

He turned to face her. "You ever been shot at before, Abby?"

She was silent for a minute, struck by the randomness of his question. Well, it wasn't random in the context of the past week, but for their current conversation in the plane it came out of nowhere. "Which answer would you prefer?"

"Whichever one's the truth."

"I told Tony I hadn't."

"What are you going to tell me?"

Sighing, she mulled over her words. "Yeah, I have. Twice. Once by the wife of a guy I put in jail, once by an old boyfriend."

He turned to look at her. "I think I would have preferred the lie." His expression said otherwise though; as if he was somehow perversely relieved that he wasn't the reason she'd been shot at for the first time.

"You don't have to worry about me, you know."

He laughed, as if she being ridiculous.

She uncurled a leg from underneath her and reached out to poke him on the ankle with it. "Really. You shouldn't feel bad."

"He would have killed you. To get to me. Just like he killed Kate."

"Well, he didn't kill me." _Only your agent. My friend._

There was silence, as Abby studied Gibbs and Gibbs studied the seat in front of him.

"Three."

Abby frowned. "What?"

"You've been shot at three times, now. Not two."

Unsure how to make him feel better, she shuffled forward and rested her cheek on his arm. "Well, there's a big happy Grand Canyon of a difference between being shot at and being shot."

"Would you have forgiven me if he'd hurt you?"

"No."

He looked defeated as he closed his eyes slowly.

Abby curled her arms around his, hugging his elbow to her chest. "Because there'd be nothing to forgive. It's hardly your fault if someone decides to try and kill your friends. Considering me your friend is nothing you should be forgiven for. It's great. It's what Ari decided to do with that friendship that we can never forgive _him_ for."

"It doesn't feel that way."

Abby rolled her eyes. "Well of course not! You're broody boy mark two. You may not the have eternal life, fangs and dislike of sunlight that Angel does, but if we put flowers in _your _basement they'd die just as quickly as in his." She clicked her fingers.

Gibbs stared at her blankly. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Just consider it the words of an all knowing, higher being. You don't understand my pop culture references, so you just assume I know what I'm talking about. You don't know how to use my gas chromatograph, so you just leave it to me. Trust me on this whole guilt thing too, ok? Besides, you'd never hurt me."

"I might yet."

"Not physically."

Gibbs shook his head vehemently.

"Well, then, I'm sure you'll have your reasons."

"You have that much trust?"

She smiled at him and hugged his arm tighter. "Sure, because you're my friend, and Ari's dead."

After a while, Gibbs thought she'd fallen asleep. It had been a long time since anybody had napped against him in such an innocent way. After a minute though, she whispered groggily.

"Do you think it's possible to ever get too tired of missing so many people? There has to be a limit on how many people someone can miss before they just explode."

His mind flashed to Shannon and Kelly, who were still his little secret. To other wives that it just hadn't worked out with. To his parents. To Kate. To men he'd lost at war. To those few minutes when he'd thought that Abby lay dead in her lab.

"Who do you miss?"

Abby just laughed softly, and it was clear she wasn't going to answer. That was alright, the time wasn't right for either of them. "That's probably how I'll hurt you one day."

Gibbs sighed. "It's probably how I'll hurt you too."

She rubbed her cheek against his suit, trying to get comfortable. "Well, I'm sure I'll understand and as long as you don't do it intentionally or maliciously, it'll be fine. Life's full of hurt, because that's just the way things go. You know what I was saying about the guilt thing? Kate won't forgive you, because I'd bet you all the coffee in the world that she's not angry with you in the first place."

He chuckled. "All the coffee in the world?"

Abby didn't reply, because she'd fallen asleep, her cheek on his shoulder and her hands curled around his arm. He was warmed by the fact that she felt comfortable enough to do so, calmed and consoled by her confidence that he had never let her down and that he'd always take care of her. He would.

What good was all the coffee in the world if there was nobody to share it with?


	4. Secrets

This is just a little AU that I came up with a while ago. Sometimes, it annoys me that TPTB never seem to make Abby really, truly serious.

Thanks for the reviews guys!

oooooooooooooooo

The moment Gibbs saw Abby's back stiffen as the Russian terrorist yelled, something in his gut told him that things would never be the same again. A light of recognition shone in her eyes; recognition of assassins and plots and missing people and things that the old Abby should never have known about. Well, she would have known about them, she wasn't stupid, but the glint in her eye suggested personal familiarity.

The terrorist yelled again, in perfect Russian dialect, something Gibbs had never even known Abby spoke, let alone understood. "I'm the only way you're going to get Agent Adelei Caplano back!"

Her posture gained strength, her shoulders squared, her eyes darkened and she faced the terrorist head on. "Where is Caplano? Tell me!" There was a darkness to her voice, the polar opposite of the tone she adopted when she prattled on about fingerprints or sang to Android Lust.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw McGee start, surprised by her apparent sudden command of Russian.

She advanced, "I'm the only way you're going to live through this. Where is Caplano?"

The terrorist's shoulders slumped. "If you'll help me."

Abby turned to look at the Director, who was surprised, but managed to utter a bewildered order to have him sent to Interrogation Room One.

Gibbs, having never taken his eyes off his forensic scientist, saw her bow her head, a look of defeat and regret cross her face and settle in her eyes. Her hand rose to her hip, to flap back the side of her jacket and the movement was oddly reminiscent of an agent checking to secure their gun.

It only lasted a second. She quickly adopted a composed stance, but when she turned to Ziva's desk, the look of regret in her eyes was still there, even if her expression was schooled into one of neutrality.

His hearing picked up a sequence of numbers as she spoke softly into Ziva's phone, jumble, but what he was sure was an authentication code of some sort. A call sign was given and a weight settled into his stomach.

After a second, the phone slapped gently back into its cradle and she turned. With a deep intake of breath, she caught his gaze. Her eyes held a pain in them, but she looked at him nonetheless.

"I'm so sorry, Gibbs."


	5. A Language All Of Their Own

Swallowing the last of her Corona, Mann put the bottle back on the workbench and sighed. As the taste faded, she licked her lips. It had been a long week; two active homicide cases had led to her 2IC being bitten by the culprit, which resulted in not only a very grumpy Major but a very tired Colonel who was happy to see the end of the day.

A new bottle appeared in front of her and she smiled, lifting it to her lips. Tomorrow was Saturday. She was just about to take a sip when something caught her eye. Quickly halting the upward arc of the bottle, she tipped it back to vertical and set it on the table. 

In the corner, almost blanketed in darkness, was a pair of black stilettos. They were closed toe, uncovered on the side and had a cup for the heel. A strap of black silk ribbon that wrapped around the ankle hung loosely with no leg inside its circle. The ribbon clasped into a sparkly buckle, and it was the sparkle that she'd noticed.

They _weren't_ hers.

"Gibbs?"

Behind her, she felt Gibbs still. Even the least perceptive man in the world would have been chilled by her tone.

"Yeah?"

She stooped and hooked a finger under the ankle straps. Standing up, she turned to face him. "Who do these belong to?"

He seemed to be relieved and stuck for an answer at the same time.

"They're Abby's."

She couldn't help but be annoyed by his reply; not only because of what it was, but because of the way it was delivered, as if the answer was perfectly obvious and acceptable.

"Why," she fixed him with a stare, "have you got Abby's shoes here?"

He took a swig of his beer. "She left them here."

His tone was the same as before, and it grated. "Any particular reason why Abby would take off her shoes in your basement?"

"She was working on the boat." He picked up a piece of sanding paper and turned to a plank of wood, which only served to annoy her more.

She raised an eyebrow. "In stilettos?"

He shrugged. "She was at a party."

"And of course no good party is complete without a touch of carpentry to finish off the night." She knew jealousy didn't become her.

Gibbs stared at her levelly, an unusual look in his eye. "I'm closer to the city than she is. She comes here when she's too drunk to drive and her friends aren't ready to take a cab home."

"Does she get drunk a lot?" She knew her phrasing could have been better, especially when his expression changed. He was accepting a challenge.

"Not as much as she used to."

Mann couldn't quite place his tone, although there was something slightly nostalgic about it. She felt somehow responsible for it. "How did she get home without them? Even _Abby_ would notice she wasn't wearing any shoes."

She wasn't quite sure what had made her say it. She knew it never seemed to shine through, but she did respect the lab tech. Abby was one of the most gifted forensic scientists she'd ever met, and seemed particularly skilled at coaxing Gibbs out of a bad mood.

So, on second thoughts, she knew exactly what had made her say it.

His eyes hardened. "Yes, of course she knew. I drove her home in the morning."

"So she stayed the ni-" she was cut off as the front door banged open.

"Gibbs?"

He threw the sandpaper onto the workbench and turned to yell up the stairs. "Down here!"

There was a crash, followed by the sound of feet hopping.

"Argh, Gibbs, lights wouldn't kill you!"

Gibbs laughed. "Abby, every time you come here you crash into that same table. The table is always there. It doesn't move!"

She was closer now, close enough for Mann to hear the sound of her tutting impatiently at what she'd obviously deemed a triviality.

"Please tell me you have my shoes?"

Mann felt Gibbs' eyes flick to her. "Yes and no."

A figure filled the doorway. "Yes and no? What the hell does that mea…" she trailed off as she saw who was holding her stilettos. "Lieutenant-Colonel Mann. Hi, um, hello! Like 'em?"

Mann looked down at the shoes. "Hey, Abby. Yeah, they're…sparkly."

Abby carefully descended the stairs, and Mann saw what she was wearing as the light hit her. Bright red skirt overalls, that ended just under the curve of her bum. Abby did have the legs for it, Mann had to give her that. The top part only reached just below her breasts, but the suspenders curled all the way up and over her shoulders and down to the small of her back. A black baby-t, with the words "Damn the Man! Save the Empire" emblazoned across the front covered what the overalls didn't. Pale flesh of her hips could be seen where the bottom of the T didn't quite meet the top of the skirt.

She skirted the dirty, sawdust covered parts of the floor and Mann noticed that her nails were painted fire-truck red. The same colur as the hair ties she wore; her hair was in low plaits that rested on her shoulders. Awkwardly, she reached for her shoes. "Thanks." She hooked her fingers under the straps.

Mann nodded. "No problem."

Abby smiled, her shiny red lips curving happily. "So, I'm off. Friend's housewarming."

"Pete's?" Gibbs asked.

Both women turned to him. "No," Abby shook her head. "Damian's."

Gibbs shifted his weight from his left foot to his right.

"Relax Gibbs. That was two years ago. Damo was so off his head that night he tried to have sex with anything that moved."

"Well then, make sure you stand still."

Abby laughed. She turned to make her way to the stairs, but then to Mann's surprise, Gibbs put his hand on her arm to stop her.

"Don't sleep with anybody you don't know."

Abby rolled her eyes. "Please, I can barely sleep with anybody I _do_ know at the moment."

He continued on. "Don't leave your drinks, call me if you need a lift."

Abby darted her eyes to Mann, and discomfort rolled off both women in waves. In one way or another, they both felt like they ought not to be in the room for this conversation.

"Sure, sure. I'll be fine."

His fingers tightened around her arm. "Call me if you need a lift."

Abby smiled and nodded, touched by his sincerity. She knew that any other time he would have kissed her on the cheek. He looked like he wanted to, but circumstances and present company were not to be forgotten.

Mann watched him let go of her arm and push her towards the stairs gently. It was a curious thought, that if they wanted to communicate in secret, they needed only to sign.

Whether with words or hands, she had a feeling that they spoke a language all of their own. One she just couldn't quite understand.


	6. Knight In Shining Armani

There have been some questions about chapter four, so I thought I'd add a little note here. "The Strangest Friendship" is just a collection of individual stories. Each chapter has its own context, and has no bearing whatsoever on any other chapter. Part four was just an attempt to portray Abby in a different light. To make her serious and dangerous and give her an unexpected, unusual past. It wasn't setting the premise for any further chapters. It was just a little creative experiment.

Thanks so very much to all reviewers! You're making me and my inbox ecstatic.

- - - - - - - -

The squad-room was dark; small pools of light from desk lamps the only illumination in the room. Looking down from the landing in front of MTAC, if Gibbs leant just the right way, he could see DiNozzo, still at his desk. Well, his new old desk. He'd said he had some papers to fill out, and with a nod had settled down to finish them.

Contrary to popular belief, Gibbs was, if not upset, slightly irked by the fact that he'd swooped back into NCIS and his old position. He'd known that DiNozzo would be offered a similar job, perhaps something even more important. He'd even coaxed Jen into the idea, but his 2IC still remained in DC, and he had to admit that he was pleased his team was as it used to be.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a flash of black. Quick heavy footsteps, accompanied by a jingle of chains got louder and louder as Abby all but ran to Tony's desk.

He pricked his ears, standing completely still. It wasn't so much about eavesdropping as it was making sure she was alright. The expression on her face indicated otherwise.

"Got another ten messages. Don't know why he won't leave me alone."

Tony all but sprang from his desk, one hand going to secure his gun, the other his jacket from his chair.

"I so do not need another stalker Tony."

Gibbs went to move, to see just what the hell was going on, but froze when Tony put his hand on the small of her back. There was nothing romantic in the gesture, but it came with an air of protection. "I'll be your knight in shining…Armani, Abby."

She smiled, the panicked look in her eyes finally dimming. "Thanks, Tony."

He flicked his collar out. "Come on, I'll drive you home. Your cable connection defies all odds and your couch is comfy."

Abby laughed as they walked towards the exit. "McGee tweaked it for me, which is not to say I couldn't have done it myself."

The elevator doors sprung open, but there was enough time for him to see Tony's expression of mock-disgust. "I don't want to know what McGee's tweaked for you, Abs."

His hand was still on her back and he shoved her into the lift gently, before stepping in after her. Not before he ran his hand over his gun in one disguised movement, as if checking to see it was there.

Gibbs didn't like what that might mean. When the lights over the elevator darkened, to indicate they weren't in use, he went down the stairs, stopping just in front of his desk. He stared at it contemplatively. He'd taken his old job back; his old position as team leader.

He turned to look at Tony's desk, thinking of the way Abby had calmed when his 2IC had told her he'd take care of her. Some things, it seemed, were just not his anymore. Not quite yet.


	7. Well Cared For

The lab is a very busy place. People are always coming to see me to say hello or get answers to seemingly impossible questions, and quickly at that. I guess you could say I'm well-liked. I suppose when you have Gibbs as a measure of comparison, that's not really saying much. I love him though, grumpy or not. He takes care of me. He's actually the one who brought me to NCIS. I suppose I'm somewhat eccentric and definitely energetic, but he doesn't seem to mind. I guess the guys here seem to have taken to me, in their own individual ways.

Tony liked me, and I liked him, from the minute he stepped into my lab. I was just sitting there, looking at one of my many computers with a lovely new dog collar on when he walked in and complimented me on it. Anybody who praises my accessories is already hauling in brownie points by the truckload. Doesn't mean I didn't play hard to get, mind you.

Kate…Kate didn't know what to make of me when she first met me. She would stare at me when she thought I wasn't looking, but there was only curiosity in her eyes, so I let her stare and pretended not to notice. In time we grew close. Sometimes, when things would get tough and we couldn't get the answers at all, let alone quick enough for Gibbs' impossible time demands, she'd give me a quick hug and a squeeze. I miss Kate so much sometimes. I'll never forget her, or Ari. When that bullet flew through my window and glass shattered over my head, I was so certain that there was nowhere I could escape to, nowhere I would be safe. Still, I knew Gibbs would be there, working furiously to fix everything. He's good at protecting people.

With Ari came Ziva, who was in no way welcome when I first met her. I didn't like her, and she didn't like me, which worked out fine. She kept looking at me as if I was in the wrong place; as if I belonged somewhere else and not a federal office. As if I was too comical to be involved in such serious work. Which was ok, because I just thought she was a bitch. After a while we worked things out though. She was tough, and I couldn't help but admire that. She has the tiniest hint of goofiness in her, so I've sort of latched onto that. I'll bring it out in time.

McGee. Ah yes, McGee. Now McGee and I have an interesting relationship. Sometimes we get along brilliantly and other times he annoys me. He thinks he knows more than I do, which is so not true. Sometimes he's loyal, sometimes he has a bit of a wandering eye. There is a lot of competition in this lab, like the brown haired doll who I sometimes find at my desk or my favourite computer. Still, I did encourage him to look around. I'm not one to make commitments to anybody but myself. He's sweet though.

Ducky! Oh, I love Ducky! Ducky never gets impatient with me, even when I'm in the way or sitting in the wrong seat. Sometimes I pop up out of nowhere and accidentally scare him. He appreciates what I can do. He's always willing to give me a hug too. He bought me a black teddy bear for my birthday which I love to death. It's always great to have more friends in the lab.

Yup. All in all I think I'm a well cared for hippopotamus.

- - - - -

So, what do you think? Was the point of view a surprise? I had to make it seem like it was Abby, but only use descriptions and details that could ultimately still apply to Bert.

Hope you enjoyed it!


End file.
